Tips On How To Make Time For Exercise

As a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), Accountability Coach and editor of the ever so popular 1st N Weight Loss fitness site, I've heard every excuse in the book when it comes to why people can't find the time for exercise. However, the one that takes the, pardon-my-pun, "fitness cake" is lack of time.

A day does not pass by without one of my clients professing that they simply don't have time for exercise. Well, I've seen people who want to loose weight badly enough. They will restrict their diets, exercise rigorously for an hour a day and even swear off alcohol, and chocolate. So, don't give me that baloney!

People shy away from exercise because they think they'll have to spend hours in a gym. To maintain good health all you need is a healthy diet and a daily walk that can be broken up into increments throughout the day.

Still don't believe me? I'll show you how easy it is to find time to fit brief walks into your day:

1) Is Scandal a rerun again? It breaks my heart when that happens. Why not go for a 30-minute walk. If it's a new episode that you simply can't miss, jump rope during commercials or run on the spot.

2) Does carting the kids to football or basketball cut into your exercise time?  Take some inspiration from Jr. and stay on your feet during the game. You'll get kudos for being the team's best cheer leader, and your butt won't expand to the size of the soccer field.

3) Are you dying to get your hands on the next best-seller? Buy it as a book-on-tape and take it walking with you. It might have you extending your stroll to finish a chapter.

4) Instead of a sumptuous brunch with the girls, try a brisk 30-minute walk with your BFF. Catching up on all the latest gossip can be just as delicious during a walk, plus it won't tempt you to cheat on your healthy eating plan.

5) Remember when people used to run errands? Well many of us still take that term literally.  The next time you need a quart of milk, walk to the local store.

6) Use your lunch break as an exercise break. I go work out and then eat lunch at my desk. A brisk walk around the block will leave you more refueled for the afternoon than that third cup of coffee.

7) Do you complain about how slow your apartment elevator is? Take the faster route, the stairs. You'll burn calories in the process.

8) It's always ironic that those who circle the parking lot looking for the closest spot are often the most overweight. Park farther away where there are plenty of spots. You'll burn extra calories lugging your groceries back to the car.

9) Have you ever heard the phrase hurry up and wait? Well it's not just a humorous observation it's a great way to stay moving.  The next time you're waiting in a long line don't take a chair, pace the floor or do a little stretching.

10) If you have no time to exercise, chances are you don't have time to clean the house either. Housework, such as dusting, vacuuming, shoveling and raking, is multitasking because it counts as exercise.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Which Is Better, Burning Calories Or Burning Fat?

1st N Weight Loss: Couch Potato Challenge: Day 19

To lose weight and get in shape you must have a good diet and exercise regularly to burn fat. The first thing you must understand about exercise is that just because you are burning calories does not mean you are burning fat.

Your main focus when you exercise should be losing body fat, and you can't lose body fat just from burning calories. When we exercise, our bodies will start burning calories, but the calories that are burned are the calories from carbohydrates in our system.

In order to burn calories from your stored fat, your body requires the presence of oxygen. There is a certain amount of oxygen that your body needs in order to start burning fat and the only way for you to measure the amount needed for your own body is to keep up with your target heart rate during exercise.

Please understand that if you continue to only burn calories from carbohydrates, you will lose mostly water weight which leads to a decrease in your metabolism. Also, think of the calories that are burned from carbohydrates as your energy calories. If you lose too much energy calories then your muscles will not receive enough energy to increase your metabolism which indirectly burn fat.

Therefore you must increase your calorie intake when you are on an exercise program to replace your burned energy calories.

Burning Fat Calories during exercise

During aerobic exercise, your body goes through several stages before it reaches the point where you are burning fat.

You will hear people say that you are only burning sugar (carbohydrates) not fat during the first 10 minutes of exercise. This is true to a certain extent. I say this because you will continue to burn sugar past the 10 minute mark if you are not working out hard enough for your body to want more oxygen; or you are working out too hard and you can't supply your body with enough oxygen for fat burning.

When you exercise you must move at a steady pace (not too fast, not too slow) so your body will utilize your stored fat (not carbohydrates or sugar) as its energy source. Also remember that just because you reached the fat burning stage does not mean you will stay there.

Staying at the fat burning stage once again depends on if you are moving at a pace that is right for your body. Make sure that you are within your target heart rate range.

Burning Fat Calories at rest

The only way for you to continue to burn fat calories hours after you have finished working out is through the anaerobic exercise of weight training. Weight training is the key to burning fat at rest.

Weight training is an anaerobic activity that will cause you to burn more calories than aerobic exercise. The calories that you are burning during weight training exercises are mostly calories from carbohydrates (meaning you must eat even more calories per day for energy); but the calories you burn at rest are mostly calories from fat.

The reason you are burning fat at rest is because weight training increases your metabolism which uses your stored fat as energy.

To make your body the ultimate fat burning machine you must do aerobic (cardio) and anaerobic (weight training) exercises.


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Are We Really What We Eat?

1st N Weight Loss: Couch Potato Challenge: Day 18

We've all heard this expression many times, “You are what you eat.” Have you ever really thought about what it means? And do you think about it when you’re making food choices? Are we really what we eat?

In some ways, we do become what we eat, literally. Have you ever seen an example of your blood plasma after eating a fast food hamburger? What was previously a clear liquid becomes cloudy with the fat and cholesterol that’s absorbed from eating a high-fat hamburger.

And when you think about it, we also become what we don’t eat. When we switch from eating meat to a vegetarian-based diet, we become less fat, less prone to many types of cancers. Our cholesterol can improve.

When we’re leaner and eating fewer animal products, then many other health and fitness issues are reduced. The incidence of Type II diabetes is reduced. Blood pressure falls into normal ranges. When you’re healthier, you’re taking fewer medications.

Even if you have a prescription drug benefit in your health plan, you’re still saving money with fewer co-payments on medications.

If you have a family history of high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then it’s particularly incumbent on you to revise your eating habits. Moving towards a more vegetarian diet has been shown statistically to reduce the incidence of so many of the diseases of industrialized countries.

Vegetarians are statistically healthier than omnivorous persons; they’re leaner and live longer.

Isn’t it time to think about what you want to be and to eat accordingly? Do you want to be sluggish and fat? Do you want the risk that goes with eating animal products, with their high fat content? Or do you want to look like and be what vegetarians are? Leaner and fitter with a longer anticipated lifespan.

It’s never too late to change what you’re doing and increase your chances for a longer, fitter life.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Why Goals Are Important

1st N Weight Loss: Couch Potato Challenge: Day 5

This article provides a brief overview of the key points in weight loss goal setting, and explains why goals in general are important. So if you have ever wanted to set weight loss goals for yourself, or any other goal, but were overwhelmed with all the information available, then you will probably find this article very useful!

Everyone who has successfully lost weight , or have been successful in life, set goals, so goal setting must be a worthwhile activity to your success.

One of the main reasons why people set goals is because goals help focus our mind and gives us something to work towards. Goals are therefore like having a destination, or vision in life, and the things you did to achieve those goals is how you got there.

Without goals you will have no destination, or vision in which to follow and you will be blown around like a leaf in the wind, never really going anywhere.

How To Write Goals?

When you have decided exactly what goals you want to achieve in certain areas of your life, such as weight loss, romance or financially, your next step is to write this in a goal format.

A goal format simply means writing goals beginning with "I have or I am", so they are written as if you have already accomplished them. This tells the mind exactly what you want to do so it can start working on achieving those goals.

However if you were to write goals beginning with "I will or I want" then it is unlikely you will achieve those goals, because your mind see these statements as in the future and so it will never be accomplished.

Set A Deadline

Once you have your goals written down, you must then create a deadline for you to accomplish them by. Without a deadline you will not be motivated to achieve them, and most likely give up on them after awhile of set backs.

Make A Plan

After your goals have been written down you should then create a plan as to how you are going to do them. For example if your goal is to loose a certain amount of weight, then your plan would include activities you must do to loose that weight.

This can include things like exercising 4 days a week and eating healthy foods. But whatever you do, try to make your plan as specific as possible. Don't worry about getting it right the first time round, you can always add to it later on.

Well that's really all there is to setting goals. It's nothing complicated, but it does require some initial time to be set aside so you can decide what goals you want to go after, and then how you will achieve them.

These are the main principles of goal setting, and if you can follow these simple steps you will be well on your way to achieving them!

Positive Thinking For A Healthier You In The New Year (2018)

                                             Healthy Aging Starts with Positive Thinking

Many people wander the earth believing they lack the intelligence, strength, mindset and power to achieve their goals. This negative mechanism holds them down, and keeps them back. You can gain motivation and live healthier, by simply telling yourself I can do it.  The old cliche, that "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT" is so true, if you really and truly put your mind to it.

How to tell self "I can do it" when it comes to life and fitness Goals:

Just say today I am going for a short walk. Tomorrow I will walk a little longer then the first day. You have to be in control of your thoughts, actions, behaviors, etc by building your power of the mind.

Nevertheless, if you do not put your mind to it and you decide that you do not want to become active, then you are only living a life filled with shortcomings. Your negative reflections will defeat the purpose of getting your thoughts in control.

Saying I will do it later, is another negative reflection. This is called procrastination, which leads to laziness. Laziness leads to weak muscles and joints, which gradually builds up to medical problems.

Take control of your thoughts. If you want to do something bad enough you will do what you have to do to get where you want to be. You need to make a goal and stick to it. Create plans that help you to reach your goals, and take action each day to achieve them.

When you give up, it is a sign that you lack faith in self and it is a clear indication of weakness. You need faith to stay strong, just as you need positive thinking to strive.

Good results:

Having a positive attitude will give you a jumpstart to a healthier life in 2018. Keep on pushing. Do not stop once you get started instead keep pushing until you reach your goal. When times get hard and you don't think, or feel you can go on just keep saying, "I can do this" while always keeping your head up in triumph and your mind open. Don't dwell on something you can't change, rather focus on the things you have the power to change.

How to continue positive living:

To stay positive you have to admit your feelings and express them. If you feel depressed or frustrated, just say it aloud. There is nothing wrong with showing emotions, providing you stay in control and learn to express what you feel.

You have to talk about how you feel and don't blame yourself, or others, but instead, try to figure out why you are so depressed or frustrated. Failing to discover your intentions or reasons will reduce your control, especially if you do not understand your "WHY". Do not worry about the cause, rather find your  "WHY", and the cause will come to you.

Here are some pointers that might help you to get where you want to be.

• Find a good role model and become acquainted with their way of thinking positive. 
• Try to talk positive and avoid any negative talk at all cost. 
• Seek some support from friends and family.
• Reward your self with a massage or try meditation. 

Make a plan and stay with it no matter if its a change in fitness, or life in general. Just remember you can do whatever you want to do and keep your mind set, and positive energy for the good things and not the bad things. This will make you feel better and make you a happier person.

Being happy, can lead to a healthier life. Don't forget to create a goal. Don't make the goal so high that you won't be able to achieve it,  doing this can lead to disappointment and discouragement. Instead ensure your goals are realistic, and obtainable. By doing this, you can foster motivation, keep the fire burning inside, while readjusting accordingly as each goal is met.