Fitness & Wellness

Mistakes That Cause Diets To Fail

Mistakes That Cause Diets To Fail

Many people start diets with good intentions. They want to lose weight, look, and feel better. Unfortunately, they often make diet mistakes that doom the weight loss from the start. Identifying those mistakes can help you avoid them and be more successful at weight loss. One reason diets fail is that they’re diets. Instead of learning to eat healthier, people set severe restrictions. They may have a diet that limits food intake to cabbage soup or grapefruit juice. That type of diet isn’t sustainable or healthy.

People think they have to eat three squares a day or eat more frequently to lose weight.

Intermittent fasting is one way of losing weight that limits the time you eat to a narrower window. If it’s an eight-hour window, you might start with a snack at 10:00 a.m. and finish your last meal at 6 p.m. Some people believe that skipping breakfast will make you fat. Studies don’t show that’s true. It doesn’t mean you should skip it; it just means you don’t have to eat breakfast to lose weight. People also believe that eating more frequently can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight. That’s false. It’s all about the number of calories you consume.

People often fail to include exercise.

Exercising helps burn extra calories and builds muscle tissue. The more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism will be. You need nutritional building blocks to create the muscles and to eat enough to ensure you aren’t burning muscle tissue, so don’t cut calories too low especially if you’re exercising. Cut the number of calories you consume for maintenance by approximately 500 calories. Make sure you have adequate protein.

It’s all about eating healthier.

If you eat healthy meals, you’ll never have to diet. When you fill your plate with greens and whole foods, it’s hard to eat too many calories. Eliminate food made with refined flour, added sugar, and highly processed food and replace it with fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and a healthy protein source. Avoid special diet foods. They’re often overpriced and not nearly as healthy as you think.

  • People often think cutting fat from their diet helps them lose weight. Cut fried food fat but include healthy fat. Healthy fat is necessary to burn fat. It also keeps you full longer, so you don’t eat as much.
  • Being too strict with your eating pattern can make you feel like a failure if you eat an occasional treat. That can cause you to quit trying. It’s okay to do it occasionally, keeping portion control in mind. Just don’t do it all the time.
  • Do all exercise types, strength building, cardio, flexibility, and balance. If you only do cardio, your body burns fat and muscle tissue for energy. You end up with less muscle tissue and burn fewer calories.
  • People often fail to include fiber in their diet. Fiber fills you up and keeps you feeling full longer. It helps prevent blood sugar spikes that leave you ravenous as your blood sugar drops just as quickly.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Love Every Minute Of Healthy Eating

Love Every Minute Of Healthy Eating

There are many misconceptions about healthy eating. Some people think it’s going gluten-free or switching from table sugar to honey. While we focus on exercise at Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, FL, we encourage people to eat healthier. It doesn’t mean you have to give up all the food you love. It means you make smarter choices when it comes to food. Have a piece of fresh fruit instead of grabbing a candy bar as a snack.

Add your berries to Greek Yogurt.

Yogurt with fruit or “fruit in the bottom” is convenient but has a lot of added sugar. You can make your own healthier version by using plain yogurt without sweeteners or flavoring and adding a few berries or other fruit. You can make a healthy dessert from Greek yogurt layered with a half banana cut in coins with blueberries or sweet cherries added and topped with nuts. It’s super nutritious, extremely delicious, and low in calories. It’s a healthier option that satisfies your urge for sweets and fills you with healthy protein. Buy a large container of Greek yogurt and use it for snacks or in place of sour cream for baked potatoes.

Make simple swaps.

Opt for canned fruits packed in their own juice rather than in syrup. Avoiding food with added sugar should be at the top of your list. Go for whole foods, food closer to their natural state. When choosing vegetables, use canned vegetables without added salt. If you can’t find salt-free vegetables, such as green beans, dump the liquid from the can, put them in a colander, and rinse them several times before cooking.

Stick with whole grain bread instead of white bread.

Bread made with whole grain flour contains the grain’s bran, endosperm, and germ. White bread only contains the endosperm. The endosperm is primarily starch that puts on weight and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The bran and germ provide the dietary fiber, phytochemicals, and micronutrients necessary for good health. Choose bread made from whole grains. Switching to brown rice instead of highly processed white rice also has health benefits. Like whole grain flour, brown rice contains the bran, endosperm, and germ. White rice only contains the endosperm.

  • Eat fatty fish, like salmon, mackerel, lake trout, sardines, or albacore tuna two times a week. Limit red meat and eat more chicken or vegetable protein sources like beans. Choose pastured organic meat options..
  • Make baked sweets healthier by substituting unsweetened applesauce for part of the sugar, oil, or butter. Avocado is another butter substitute that works in recipes and as a spread.
  • Try something new and healthier. Instead of pasta spaghetti, try spaghetti squash. It tastes like spaghetti. You can also make zoodles from zucchini using a spiralizer to replace noodles.
  • If you’re making mashed potatoes, include mashed cauliflower. A half-and-half mixture of potatoes and cauliflower is healthier and tastes just as good as plain potatoes. Some say it’s better.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Why Circuit Training Is Great For Weight Loss

Why Circuit Training Is Great For Weight Loss

Circuit training isn’t a specific exercise but a way of doing a group of exercises. Each exercise is a station that improves different aspects of fitness. They work different body parts or different types of fitness, such as cardio, flexibility, balance, or strength. People doing circuit training go from one station to another without much break between each set. When finished, they start the circuit again. It builds endurance and strength. It’s excellent for weight loss.

There are several ways to set up circuit training.

You can do strength training for different body parts with one station focusing on arms, while another focuses on lower body muscles. You can also do timed circuit training and attempt to increase the number of circuits you perform in an allotted time or just focus on completing more circuits without timing your workout. There are sports-specific circuits that only include exercises beneficial for improving skills in specific sports.

Most circuits have between 8 and 12 stations.

Circuit training allows for individualized programs. Each person works at his or her own pace. Even timed workouts allow that since they only do as many exercises as possible in a limited time. The time spent at each station is between 30 seconds to a minute. No matter how the circuit training is completed, it should always begin with a warm-up and end with a cool-down workout. It’s especially important because circuit training can be grueling. The warm-up gets the blood circulating and slowly increases the heart rate, keeping blood pressure lower. The cool-down can start recovery and help get the body back to normal.

Circuit training burns tons of calories and keeps you focused while you workout.

The circuit moves so fast that staying focused is imperative. There’s no time for the mind to wander. The effects of circuit training are similar to the effects of HIIT—high intensity interval training—workouts. They not only burn calories while you’re doing it, but they also burn extra calories for up to 48 hours after you’re finished. That’s called afterburn. Afterburn speeds metabolism for a few days. You’ll get more exercise in less time because the rest between stations is shorter.

  • Circuit training can keep people engaged because it offers a game-like structure. It’s easier to see improvement when you do more sets in the time allotted. Sometimes, participants don’t take stations in a specific order but run to any open station. That adds to the challenge.
  • Learning the proper form for each exercise is mandatory before you include it in a circuit. Poor form diminishes any potential benefits and can lead to injury.
  • If your schedule is busy, do HIIT training or circuit training. Both types provide more benefits in a half-hour than steady-state workout that takes 45 minutes to an hour.
  • You can do strength training circuits to build muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, which also helps improve weight loss.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Ab Workouts For A Stronger Core

Ab Workouts For A Stronger Core

Strong core muscles help you move with ease and maintain good posture and balance. When you include ab workouts, you’re increasing the strength of the core. At Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, FL, we include ab workouts. They help keep your stomach flat, improve your posture, and allow you to move freely. When your core muscles are strong, you can bend, twist, and stand erect with ease. Strengthening the abs reduces the effort of the back muscles to keep you erect. That relieves back, hip, and leg pain.

Planks work the abs and the upper body.

If you do a plank correctly, you’ll work your abs. While planks don’t require a lot of movement, they still aren’t easy to do. There are almost 25 ways to do planks with the two best known being the forearm plank and the straight arm plank. The forearm plank starts in a push-up position with the body straight and the weight on the forearms and toes. A straight-arm plank is similar, but your arms are straight with the body’s weight on the palms of the hands and toes.

Do a bridge to strengthen your abs and build a stronger core.

Like planks, a bridge is relatively simple. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Your arms should be by your sides. Now raise your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your head. Squeeze all your core muscles tight, pulling in your belly as much as possible. Hold for a half minute and then lower your body back down slowly.

V sit-ups or bicycle crunches strengthen your abs.

The key to success when doing V sit-ups is to focus on form and squeezing your core muscles as you do the v sit-up. Lie down with your legs and arms straight. Extend your arms above your head. Lift your legs and arms off the floor until your body forms a V. Hold the position, then slowly lower your body back to the starting position. Start on your back with your elbows bent and hands behind your head if you’re doing a bicycle crunch. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor. Slightly raise your head as you bring one knee up, straightening the other leg. Tap your knee with your elbow. Then lower it and do the opposite leg.

  • Just like push-ups, beginners can start on bent knees when doing planks. It helps strengthen their body until they can do the traditional form.
  • You can boost the core-building effects of a walking lunge by taking it a step further. Lunge walk with your hands above your head. Twisting your upper body or reaching forward also works the abs more.
  • A traditional push-up can work the abs and tone the core muscles. Don’t allow your belly to sage when you do it. Start with a bent knee push-up if you can’t do the traditional push-up.
  • Before you start any exercise program, always check with your healthcare professional first, particularly if you have pre-existing health issues.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


The Importance Of Strength Training

The Importance Of Strength Training

Running is a great exercise, but if that’s all you’re doing, it’s not enough. You need four types of training to be fit. You need cardio, flexibility, balance, and strength training. All of them play a vital role in your health. People often overlook strength training because they think it causes big bulging muscles. The fact is you have to train specifically to do that. It’s hard for men to do and almost impossible for women. It offers many benefits to people of all ages, including seniors.

Obesity is a killer, and strength training can fight it.

Many people think of cardio as a calorie torcher, and they’d be right. However, the calories it burns come from both muscle and fat tissue. Burning muscle tissue can be counterproductive. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain, so the more you have, the more calories you burn 24/7. Strength-building also burns a lot of calories, but it builds muscle tissue at the same time, boosting your efforts to shed extra pounds.

Strength training can prevent osteoporosis and build bone density.

After the mid-30s, people start losing muscle mass. Sarcopenia is naturally occurring unless you do something to prevent it. That something is strength training. Why would you try to prevent it? The more muscle mass you lose, the more potential you have for bone loss. When the muscles tug on the bones, the body sends calcium to the bones to strengthen them. If that tugging doesn’t occur, the bones lose calcium. Maintaining muscle mass as you age can keep you independent longer and help prevent injuries from falling.

Get rid of belly fat when you do strength training.

Belly fat—visceral fat—is the most dangerous type of fat. Unlike subcutaneous fat that’s just below the top layer of skin, visceral fat is deep inside and it crowds the organs. It can cause inflammation, breathing, cause insulin resistance, and generally affect overall health. It’s also the hardest type of fat to lose. Strength training can help eliminate visceral fat, which makes you healthier and improves your overall appearance.

  • Whether you’re premenopausal, menopausal, or postmenopausal, hormonal imbalances can affect your health and weight. Strength-building exercises can help realign your hormones.
  • If back pain plagues you, start doing strength training. As you build your core muscles and get stronger, it relieves back pain. It strengthens the core muscles and improves overall posture.
  • Strength training builds muscles and tendons that can ease joint pain. It helps lubricate the joints by increasing synovial fluid. The synovial fluid cushions the joints, lubricates, and brings nutrients to the joints.
  • Strength training improves heart health, lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, and reduces blood sugar levels. It improves mental health. Therapists use it as an adjunct therapy for depression and anxiety.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Get Pain Relief From Arthritis Naturally

Get Pain Relief From Arthritis Naturally

People in Winter Haven, FL, often look for natural alternatives to harsh medications for arthritic pain relief. It’s not that they don’t believe in modern science, it’s that they follow the less is more approach to pain relief for arthritis. If you can find a healthy alternative that reduces or eliminates the need for prescription or OTC drugs, why not use it? There are convincing studies that show diet and exercise can help and provide other benefits for the body.

Reducing arthritis pain might be as simple as a guided exercise program.

When your joints hurt, nothing about exercising is appealing, but it’s one thing most healthcare professionals feel will help. Exercise triggers the body’s natural painkiller and stimulates circulation. It strengthens muscles and ligaments to help relieve pressure on the joints and improves bone strength and balance. It improves flexibility and reduces stiffness. Exercise improves the movement of the synovial fluid in the joints which provides nutrients and cushioning of the joints. A personal trainer can create a low-impact exercise program that can help reduce or eliminate the pain.

What you eat can make a difference.

Cruciferous vegetables should be part of everyone’s diet, but especially those with arthritis. These vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. The sulforaphane in crucifers can slow cartilage damage. Include food with omega-3 fatty acids, too. These include flaxseed, salmon, walnuts, and tuna. Increasing omega-3 fatty acids reduces inflammation. Other foods providing joint pain relief are tart cherry juice and blueberries. Both are high in anthocyanin which is also anti-inflammatory.

Adding spices to your cooking can bring relief.

Sprinkle turmeric on your food to get the benefits of this anti-inflammatory herb. It has a mild taste that you’ll barely notice but can help relieve your pain. It’s the curcumin in the turmeric that brings the benefits. In India, it’s been used for centuries to help treat arthritic pain. Adding garlic to food also helps with many ailments, including inflammation. The diallyl disulfide in the garlic even shows promise to rebuild cartilage. Food high in vitamin C can also reduce the risk of osteoarthritis.

  • When you exercise to help reduce arthritic pain, it also helps you remain more flexible, builds your endurance, and improves your sleep at night. Lack of sleep can make arthritic pain feel even worse.
  • If you’re overweight, losing weight can help bring arthritic relief, especially in the knees and hips. A healthy diet and regular exercise can help with that.
  • Getting out in the sun to boost your vitamin D also provides a big benefit. Take off your shoes and walk on the grass barefoot. It’s a technique known as grounding that can soothe pain and help you relax.
  • Always check with your healthcare professional before changing your diet or starting an exercise program. Never stop medication before you discuss it with your healthcare.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Make This Your Healthiest Year Yet!

Make This Your Healthiest Year Yet!

There’s no better time to start a goal than the first of the year. It’s a chance to renew and dedicate yourself to your goals and dreams. For some people, it’s a financial goal and for others, it’s to make it the healthiest year ever. How do you achieve any goal? First, you have to write it down in terms that are concise, measurable, and realistic. Having a timeline can prevent procrastination. Start by ensuring your goal is realistic.

How are you going to make this the healthiest year ever?

With a few exceptions, everyone has something they can do to live a healthier lifestyle. What is your biggest health nemesis? Is it excess weight? Smoking? Lack of exercise? Whatever it is, precisely identifying your biggest problem will give you a starting point. It helps provide direction. If you’re overweight, how many pounds do you need to lose? If you need to get more exercise, how much is more?

How are you going to achieve it?

Achieving any goal is all about being consistent. If you want to be healthy, you can’t eat broccoli at one meal and think you’ve accomplished your goal. Focus on how you’ll incorporate your goal consistently into your lifestyle. Is getting fit your goal? Put regular exercise into your schedule as you would with any important appointment. If eating healthier is your goal, start meal planning or take a smaller step like eliminating food with added sugar might be your answer. Is weight loss a goal? How much are you going to lose?

Break down big goals into smaller ones.

Weight loss is probably the most popular goal. A realistic goal is to lose one to two pounds a week. Just divide the number of pounds by two for two pounds a week and you’ll find how many weeks it will take. If it’s 30 pounds, at two pounds a week it will take 15 weeks. That gives you a roadmap on how to reach your ultimate goal. You’ll also have to create a plan of action on how to achieve that goal. Are you going to focus on healthy eating? Is exercising the route you’ll take? If you want to get the best results, do both. Don’t forget to include a method of tracking your success.

  • Decide how you’ll measure your success and how you’ll know you reached your goal. You can measure your endurance by climbing stairsteps or using a health marker, like lower blood pressure.
  • Every journey starts by taking the first step. Don’t procrastinate. Take action. If you want to be fit, move more. You can start today by walking regularly as you create your written goals.
  • While you can reach a weight loss goal by eating healthier, adding exercise makes it even easier. You build muscle tissue and melt fat tissue when you workout regularly. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn 24/7.
  • We can help you define your goals and create a realistic plan of action that will help you reach them. We help you track your success and hold you accountable for sticking with your goals.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Most Effective Ab Workouts For A Strong Core

Most Effective Ab Workouts For A Strong Core

We focus on building strong core muscles at Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, FL. We use ab workouts as one way of doing it. What are your core muscles and why are they important? They affect the health and fitness of your entire body. You maintain your balance by using your core muscles. Strong core muscles can also prevent back pain and improve posture. Improved posture leads to better digestion, fewer headaches, and the reduction of many other health issues. Core muscles include the pelvis, hips, lower back, and abs.

You can use equipment, like stability balls, or do bodyweight exercises.

The simplest way to do ab exercises is using bodyweight workouts. One toning and tightening exercise for the abs is the plank. Start by laying face down on a mat with your elbows bent and directly under your shoulders and your forearms pm the floor. Push your body up until your weight is on your forearms and toes. Your body should form a straight line. Hold that position as long as you can.

This core workout builds your core and eases back pain.

The bridge works your core muscles and your glutes. Do this core exercise if you want a flat belly and tight bottom. Lay on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Raise your hips off the floor until your body is in a straight line, angling down from your knees to your head. Slowly lower your body back down.

A hollow body hold can tone your entire core and build strong abs.

Lay on the floor with your legs extended and arms at your sides. Push your lower back into the floor as you squeeze your inner thighs to raise your legs two inches above the floor. Raise your head off the floor an inch or two as you extend your hands above and behind it. Hold both your hands and feet in the air for as long as possible. Start with a goal of 30 seconds and add to it. Lower your legs and shoulders back down into the starting position. You can modify this exercise by changing your arm position, bending your knees, or adding weight.

  • Ride a bicycle or do bicycles. Riding a bike requires using muscles for balance. The pumping motion works the core muscles. You can also do the bicycle callisthenic which provides similar benefits.
  • Burpees combine several moves that can work your abs and provide an aerobic workout. In a standing position, bend at the waist and knees to put your hands on the ground. Jump your feet backward to a plank. Then jump forward and straight up back to the starting position.
  • Do walking lunges with a modification. Raise your hands above your head to add difficulty and alter your balance. Trying to keep the body balanced works the core muscles. You can also twist your upper body as you walk to make it even harder.
  • Our semi-private training provides a program that provides the exercise you need to keep your body fit, including effective ab workouts.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


Easy Meals You Can Eat Any Time Of Day

Easy Meals You Can Eat Any Time Of Day

At Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, FL, we focus on a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet. People often complain they don’t have the time to make healthy meals. Here are some easy meals you can eat at any time. They only take minutes to make but can fill you up, are nutritious, and are beneficial for weight loss.

Eggs are good any time of the day.

There are so many ways to make eggs besides sunnyside-up or over-easy. A favorite of mine is an egg casserole. It does take 35 minutes in the oven, but you can make it the night before and reheat individual servings in the microwave. Mix 12 eggs with a cup of milk, add 2 cups of chopped broccoli florets, a diced onion, a cup and a half of your cheese of choice, and ¼ tsp of both salt and pepper. Pour it into a greased 9X13 baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. There’s enough for 12 servings with 128 calories per serving.

Make a naan or other flatbread pizza.

Use a whole wheat flatbread to make this delicious and quick pizza you can eat any time. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat a baking dish large enough to hold the naan with cooking spray. Mix 2 T of ricotta cheese, a tablespoon of pesto or marinara sauce, and a pinch of lemon zest. Spread it evenly on the naan, leaving a well in the center. Crack a large egg in the well and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. Bake until the egg white sets and the cheese melts, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Make a roll-up or healthy toast for a quick meal.

You can make pinwheels or a roll-up for a quick meal. Heat a soft tortilla until it’s warm and spread it with nut butter. Put a whole banana near the bottom and roll it up. You can slice it in pinwheels or eat it whole. Avocado toast also takes minutes. Mash an avocado with lemon or lime juice until creamy. Spread it on toast and top with baby greens. Serve it with an egg and a side of fruit.

  • Try a spinach, feta, scrambled egg, and sundried tomato pesto pita pocket. Use frozen drained or fresh baby spinach. Cook until it’s hot. Scramble in the eggs. Mix in feta. Spread pesto inside of the pita and spoon in the mixture.
  • Don’t let leftover meat and veggies go to waste. Heat them in a skillet. Put a burrito shell in another skillet and top with the leftovers and some cheese. Roll-up burrito style.
  • A smoothie is quick if all the veggies and fruit are ready in the refrigerator. Just toss them in the blender and add some protein powder for a filling meal.
  • A salad roll-up can taste delicious. Load the salad with onions, red peppers, greens and veggies. Spread a tortilla with hummus and top it with the salad. Roll it up and slice it in rounds with dressing on the side for dipping.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness


The Best Exercises For Already Athletic Men

The Best Exercises For Already Athletic Men

Athletic men and women often look for more challenging exercises so they can be their fittest and perform their best. These exercises are often variations of the ones in most workouts. If you are tired of trying to max out the number of push-ups you can do and want to make push-ups harder. The journey toward the perfect Aztec push-ups will meet your needs.

You need to learn several types of push-ups before you attempt the

To prepare for the Aztec push-up, learning a progression of push-up variations is a must. Start with the clapping push-up where you push up, lift your hands to clap, and land your palms on the ground to lower your body. Once you master that, move to the next level, a full-body explosive push-up where you push up with your hands and feet. There are several more challenging push-ups before you get to the Aztec variation. The X-push-up or shoulder tap, the explosive mountain pose, and the knee tap push-up are a few. Each one is demanding, so the process of doing the Aztec push-up will keep you challenged throughout.

If you feel like burpees are becoming easy, try a burpee box jump.

Choose a knee-high step or table that’s very strong. Start the burpee box jump traditionally, down to a squat, then into a high plank position. Lower your body by bending your elbow, then push your body back up and hop your legs underneath you to a standing position. Jump on the box, move to a squat position, then step off the box, and repeat from the start.

A one-arm ab roller can challenge your strength and balance.

To do the one-arm ab roller start with a dumbbell that rolls or an ab roller that lets you hold it in the center with weight on each side. Bend at the waist, keeping your feet together with the ab roller on the floor. Slowly slide the roller forward, keeping your other arm across your chest. Extend your body fully, barely touching your arm on the floor, then pull the roller toward your feet and move back to the starting position.

  • A Russian step-up looks simple but is extremely difficult. Start with a step that will bring your thigh up slightly lower than your hip. Step up with one foot and bring the other leg up with the thigh parallel to the ground.
  • If the burpee box jump isn’t tough enough for you, consider doing a one-legged burpee or a weighted burpee. You’ll hold a dumbbell in each hand when you do the weighted burpee.
  • If you’ve mastered the front lever hold, have good pulling strength, and can do weighted pull-ups, consider trying the front lever pull-up. It’s challenging, which is what many athletic people want.
  • At Habitat Health and Fitness, our personal trainers can prepare you for your sport or create a workout that will challenge your ability. The trainer will include the steps necessary to build the ultimate workout.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness