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Thursday, November 29, 2012
Newsletter
I will be bring Hot Hula to Columbia coming in 2013!
What is Hot Hula?
HOT HULA fitness® is a fun, new and exciting "total body" dance workout inspired by the dances of the Pacific Islands. HOT HULA fitness® isolates your larger muscle groups, increasing strength and definition to your core with specific emphasis on the abs, glutes, quads and arms.
HOT HULA fitness® is a fusion of traditional and new dance moves, set to the rhythm of Tahitian Drums, Reggae, and Hip-Hop, creating a unique way to experience an enjoyable and effective workout.
All ages and fitness levels are welcome and will enjoy HOT HULA fitness®.
I cannot wait to bring this exciting new workout out to you soon!!
Nefertiti
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
5 Surprising Reasons You're Not Losing Weight
You've been counting calories and working out and yet you're not dropping pounds. What gives? Health.com helps you beat the weight-loss plateau
by Denny WatkinsThe answer to your frustration may be hiding out amid the random things you do over the course of an average day—those little habits that have seemingly no connection to weight loss, but may in fact be sabotaging your best get-fit efforts.
Ask yourself these questions, and if you answer yes to any of them, you may have found your personal diet defeaters. Outwit them and you'll soon be back on track to a leaner, fitter you.
Do you always eat "healthy"?
A funny thing happens when you focus on making careful diet decisions. If you just "think" of your meal as a light choice, it can cause your brain to make more of the hormone ghrelin, reports a study from Yale University."More ghrelin makes you feel less full and signals your metabolism to slow down," says study author and Ph.D. candidate Alia Crum. To keep your ghrelin balanced, focus on the more indulgent parts of your meal—say, the nuts and cheese on your salad, rather than the lettuce.
It also helps to pick foods that are both healthy and seem like a treat, like a warm bowl of soup with crusty whole-grain bread.
Do you pay with plastic?
Carrying cash may feel a little last century, but people who use a credit card when grocery shopping buy significantly more unhealthy, calorie-dense food than people who pay cash, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research.Junk-food buyers were perfectly aware of the extra calories and cost of those treats, but since they didn't feel the immediate hit in the wallet, they gave in more easily to impulse buys, explains study co-author Kalpesh Desai, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing at Binghamton University.
Do you use exercise as a reason to snack?
There's a downside to that, says a new French study: Simply thinking about exercise can cause you to eat 50% more. Why? People assume that the upcoming workout gives them license to snack.Avoid excessive munching with a pre-gym snack of no more than 150 calories, advises Keri Glassman, R.D., author of The Snack Factor Diet. Try two slices of turkey with whole-grain crackers.
Are you desk-bound at work?
Sit for just a few hours and your body stops making a fat-inhibiting enzyme called lipase, researchers at the University of Missouri–Columbia found.Stand and stretch every hour, and you'll boost your metabolism by about 13%, says research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Or, fidget all day (tap your feet or bounce in your chair) and increase calorie burn by 54%.
Do you sleep too little?
"Not enough shut-eye puts your body into a carb- and fat-craving survival mode," says Michael Breus, Ph.D., author of The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan. A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who slept fewer than four hours ate 300 more calories and 21 more grams of fat the next day.Try this to gauge your sleep needs: For a week, go to bed seven and a half hours before you need to get up. If you awaken before the alarm, you can get by with less sleep. But if you hit snooze, you may need eight, even nine, hours a night to wake up refreshed, recharged and ready to burn some fat.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
LOSE Weight, Don't Gain It During the Holidays
The
average weight gain from Thanksgiving until January 2, when the month of
culinary atonement begins, is seven pounds. Too many Christmas cookies lying
around the office and too much alcohol at company parties, I
presume.
However, I maintain you can maintain your current weight and even shed a few pounds during the next six weeks...and still go to all those parties! Remember, the cornerstone of the Meltdown weight loss plan is to graze, eating five small but healthy meals a day. When is that easier to do than during the holidays when good food (as well as bad) is everywhere?
Here's how to survive your Thanksgiving feast with waistline intact:
However, I maintain you can maintain your current weight and even shed a few pounds during the next six weeks...and still go to all those parties! Remember, the cornerstone of the Meltdown weight loss plan is to graze, eating five small but healthy meals a day. When is that easier to do than during the holidays when good food (as well as bad) is everywhere?
Here's how to survive your Thanksgiving feast with waistline intact:
- Remember the Meltdown 40-40-20 rule.
A healthy Meltdown meal is composed of 40 percent lean protein, 40 percent complex carbohydrates and 20 percent fat. This is the optimal chemical cocktail to jump start your lagging metabolism.
Turkey without the skin is a lean protein. Yams without marshmallows, green beans without butter and mashed potatoes without too much gravy are all wonderful complex carbohydrates. There are plenty of healthy choices on the Thanksgiving menu if you look closely.
- Avoid sugar.
I don't have to tell y'all, my faithful readers, that sugar is as addicting as cocaine. Do your best to avoid all sugar and aspartame at this meal. Leave the sugar out of the tea. Don't drink sodas. No wine or beer, if humanely possible. And, if your will power holds, skip dessert. (You should be so full by then you won't want dessert!)
- Eat a healthy breakfast if your Thanksgiving meal will be at lunch. Eat a
healthy lunch if you're going to feast for supper.
Portion control will be easier this way.
- Drink up to eight glasses of ice water Thanksgiving Day.
Why iced? Because your body has to burn fat (yeah!) to heat the frigid liquid to body temperature. That takes calories. Besides, water will fill you up and helps you flush toxins.
- The Meltdown cheating rule:
You can have one contraband substance every fourth day and not impact your weight loss program. I'm going to make next Thursday my cheat day and treat myself to one piece of pumpkin pie, no whipped cream. I'm going to enjoy it and not feel guilty!
- Work out before the big meal.
My health club is open from 8 to 8 on Thanksgiving Day. I'll use the rowing machine and do some weight training while my turkey is in the oven. If your health club is closed, why not take the dog for a brisk walk? Even vacuuming the floors, shoveling snow or raking leaves can get your heart rate up.
Working out up to 90 minutes before the meal will keep your metabolism raised for at least four hours. Your body will be able to process the meal more efficiently.
- If possible, graze.
Even if your family sits down as one unit to eat Thanksgiving dinner, you can still nibble the minute you arrive. At my house the meal is a buffet. We graze on appetizers.
We spend six hours together eating a little here, a little there. That is the best way to fuel your body because it removes the rollercoaster highs and lows caused by too much, then too little blood sugar.
- If you can handle caffeine, drink black coffee.
If you look at the ingredient labels of most "diet aids," they are primarily caffeine. Caffeine causes your body to raise your basal metabolic rate, which in turn allows you to burn more fat. If you drink a cup of coffee with each holiday meal, that should stoke the fat-burning fires.
Make sure the coffee is black, however. Cream and sugar negate the positive benefits of steaming java.
- If you're the chef, make sure the meal is a healthy one.
Why clog arteries if you know better?
After Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas parties lie ahead. The same rules apply. There will always be at least one healthy thing to eat at any Christmas party even if it's just pretzels.
Sadly, stress raises your metabolism. (Read my page about stress for more info.) If you get super stressed trying to do everything by Christmas, you may just lose weight in spite of yourself.... if you stay away from those *&(^%$ cookies!
http://www.meltdown.com/holiday.htm
Sunday, November 11, 2012
NOVEMEBER
Friday, November 2, 2012
What are the best shoes for Turbo Kick?
Hello Ladies. I am working hard to bring Turbo Kick to you by January so that you can get yet another flavor to your weekly workout. After trying hard to find the best Zumba shoe, now I am on a misson to find the best Turbo Kick sneak. Here is an article I would like to share to help get you started. If I find a great one, I may just add some Dancesocks to them and use them for Zumba as well! Remember if you have not already, please email me at nefertitizumba@yahoo.com to sign up for the class if you are interested. Also list Monday or Tuesday as a possible day and note a time that may work for you. Write Turbo Kick in the subject line. See you soon!
From Hollykicks.com
This is the question I get asked the most. There are really three things you want to look for when shopping for Turbo Kick shoes.
- Minimal tread. You want to be able to pivot your feet easily. Many running shoes have heavy tread which makes it difficult to pivot on the balls of your feet; therefore causing torque in the knees when twisting. You want your feet to be able to pivot easily beneath you.
- Lateral support. Cross trainers provide lateral support to prevent your ankle from rolling when lunging side to side. Running shoes are typically made for forward and back motion and do not have lateral support. Turbo Kick has a lot of lateral movement, so be sure to read the specs or ask the sales associate about the lateral support of the shoe.
- Shock Absorption. If you are doing Turbo Kick high impact (jumping), you will need a shoe with good shock absorption. There are many shoes that meet the above criteria because of the popularity of dance type fitness classes, but if you are doing a high impact activity it’s crucial to have enough shock absorption. This will help prevent shin splints, knee pain, etc.
Top three picks for Turbo Kick shoes:
- Nike Shox Deliver or Conundrum. My favorites! They are technically running shoes, but they do offer enough lateral support to be safe. The soles have flat circles to make pivoting easy, and the 4 shoxs give great shock absorption. The con – too narrow for some people.
- Nike Free XT. These shoes are advertised specifically for Turbo Kick type activity, offering lateral support, minimal tread with a split sole, and shock absorption. They are a favorite for many people in class. The con – for me they do not have enough shock absorption and they were too narrow in the toe box which causes numbness from squeezing the nerves between the metatarsals. If you get that numb, tingly, painful feeling across your foot, try a shoe with a wider toe box.
- Asics Gel Enthrall. A friend of mine in class has tried just about every shoe on the market in the pursuit of the perfect Turbo Kick shoe and she settled on these. The Nike Shox were too narrow for her, so if you find the Shox too narrow give these a try.
Your shoes are so important, so take your time, try the feel of many different shoes, jump around the store, do some Turbo Kick moves (everyone will be impressed), and find a store with a great return policy. Foot Locker allows you to try the shoes for 30 days to see how they feel with a money back guarantee.
Have you found the perfect Turbo Kick shoe? I’d love to hear about it – leave a comment and share about your happy Turbo Kicking feet!
Also – if you’d like me to be YOUR coach, please click the green bar at the right of the page ———–>
I’d love to stay in touch and help you achieve your fitness goals!
- Minimal tread. You want to be able to pivot your feet easily. Many running shoes have heavy tread which makes it difficult to pivot on the balls of your feet; therefore causing torque in the knees when twisting. You want your feet to be able to pivot easily beneath you.
- Lateral support. Cross trainers provide lateral support to prevent your ankle from rolling when lunging side to side. Running shoes are typically made for forward and back motion and do not have lateral support. Turbo Kick has a lot of lateral movement, so be sure to read the specs or ask the sales associate about the lateral support of the shoe.
- Shock Absorption. If you are doing Turbo Kick high impact (jumping), you will need a shoe with good shock absorption. There are many shoes that meet the above criteria because of the popularity of dance type fitness classes, but if you are doing a high impact activity it’s crucial to have enough shock absorption. This will help prevent shin splints, knee pain, etc.
Chalene Johnson (creator of Turbo Kick) and me wearing the same shoes: Nike Shox Deliver
- Nike Shox Deliver or Conundrum. My favorites! They are technically running shoes, but they do offer enough lateral support to be safe. The soles have flat circles to make pivoting easy, and the 4 shoxs give great shock absorption. The con – too narrow for some people.
- Nike Free XT. These shoes are advertised specifically for Turbo Kick type activity, offering lateral support, minimal tread with a split sole, and shock absorption. They are a favorite for many people in class. The con – for me they do not have enough shock absorption and they were too narrow in the toe box which causes numbness from squeezing the nerves between the metatarsals. If you get that numb, tingly, painful feeling across your foot, try a shoe with a wider toe box.
- Asics Gel Enthrall. A friend of mine in class has tried just about every shoe on the market in the pursuit of the perfect Turbo Kick shoe and she settled on these. The Nike Shox were too narrow for her, so if you find the Shox too narrow give these a try.
Your shoes are so important, so take your time, try the feel of many different shoes, jump around the store, do some Turbo Kick moves (everyone will be impressed), and find a store with a great return policy. Foot Locker allows you to try the shoes for 30 days to see how they feel with a money back guarantee.
Have you found the perfect Turbo Kick shoe? I’d love to hear about it – leave a comment and share about your happy Turbo Kicking feet!
Also – if you’d like me to be YOUR coach, please click the green bar at the right of the page ———–>I’d love to stay in touch and help you achieve your fitness goals!
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