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Archives for December 2011

Best Chance for Success in 2012

December 27, 2011 By Laura Leave a Comment

Give yourself the best chance for success in 2012

Are you finally ready to make the scale drop in 2012?  Do you feel sluggish, your clothes don’t fit like they used to, and you would like to feel healthy and fit?  Have you made a New Years Resolution to finally make time and lose a few (or more) pounds?

92% of all New Years Resolutions end in failure.  Millions of Americans will hit the gym and be all about fitness for the first few weeks of January.. maybe the first two months.. and then stop.

Why?

They don’t plan for success.  They don’t have the accountability to keep going, clear goals before them, and most importantly a plan of action on how to get there.

If you have a SMART goal, accountability, support from friends and family, a plan on how to get there, and the drive to achieve your goal, you can be part of the 8% who actually follow through this year!

Are you ready?

1. Write down your goal.  Go ahead, do it now!  Statistics show that people who write down their goals have an 80% higher success rate of achieving them.  Make sure your goal is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound).

Rather than say “I want to lose 30 pounds by June”, commit to exercising 3 – 4 times per week and mark the days on your calendar with what type of workout you will be doing.  I like to put “legs day” or “3 mile run + abs” on the calendar so I know exactly what I will be doing.

Rather than say “I won’t eat any more sweets”, commit to something attainable.  Give up soda at lunch, or pick one day out of the week that you stop eating gluten and dairy.  Or – add something.  Commit to eating at least one salad every day.

2. Makeover your mindset.  You’ve moved on from thinking “It’s impossible to lose the weight” to “Maybe I could actually do this”.  Brainstorm potential issues and find a solution for them before you even get started.  

What hasn’t worked in the past?  Did you try to get in shape alone?  Did you not have a plan for what to do at the gym?  Figure out the mistakes that didn’t work and make a plan that will work this time!

3. Write down a plan.  Outline what changes you are going to make in your life with fitness, nutrition, sleep, stress, quitting bad habits (like smoking, eating late at night), and any goals you have for 2012.  

Really take time to think about what is important to you and the steps you are willing to take to get there.  Remember – don’t do them all at once!  Be part of the 8% and make a plan for change.

4. Take ACTION!!  Find a fitness/nutrition program that is right for you.  Look for an environment that is supportive, challenging, and a complete program that includes everything you need.  Go ahead and sign up.  Once you do, you will already feel a sense of accomplishment! Sign up for our 6 Week Body Transformation Challenge!

5. Take your goals (written in step 1) and your plan of action (written in step 3) and put them in a place you will see every day.  

Don’t skip this step, because it is very important!!  Read your goals once in the morning, and before bed at night.  It will make a big difference if you do this!  (I can bet those 92% are not doing this.)

6. Visualize yourself achieving your goal.  See yourself crossing the finish line at the race, or fitting into a special dress or pair of slacks without holding in your breath.  Remember what you are working so hard for!  

Many professional and Olympic athletes consider this just as important as their daily training.  Studies have actually shown that elite athletes who spend more time practicing visualization techniques actually performed better in competition!

Here is a short worksheet you can use to help you set your goals.  I send this to all of our boot camp members when they begin our program included in their Bay View Boot Camp Manual.

What is your Goal?

(Write down the SMART goal from above)

My Goal: ___________________________________________________

Now, decide what steps you need to take to achieve your goal. (list 3 plans of action)

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________

 

What hasn’t worked in the past?

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________

 

What will you do different this time?

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

Your Action Plan:

What is it? ____________________________________________________________

When is your start date? ___________________________________________________

Why did you choose this as your goal? _________________________________________

Who are you sharing it with? _______________________________________________

What is your time frame (finish line)? _________________________________________

Hint: Don’t use try or can’t, use “will & can”. Create positive words and actions!

Success will come with a plan. Sit down, take time to do the steps above, and commit to it by writing it down in your calendar. Make it REALITY.  How many times have you had the same New Year’s Resolution?  Now is the time to succeed.  You can make this happen!

Are you looking for a nutrition and fitness program to fulfill your New Years Resolution?  Join us for our 6 Week Body Transformation Challenge!  You will receive unlimited workouts, accountability from me (and your partner), a list of everything to get at the grocery store, and recipes to make every night.  Take action NOW and sign up before the Early Bird window ends on December 31st!!

Committed to your health and fitness success for a healthy 2012!
Laura

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Filed Under: Fitness, Motivation

How to Burn Calories AFTER You Workout!

December 12, 2011 By Laura Leave a Comment

It’s true.  You can actually TORCH FAT after you workout.. just sitting on the couch with your feet propped up watching X Factor.

I’m in.  How’s it done?

After exercising a certain way, (keep reading to find out how) your body will need higher levels of oxygen to restore your muscles to normal levels.  Therefore, you’re burning more calories after exercise than you did before.. from 30 minutes to 48 hours after!

What is this called?

Afterburn, also known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) relates to the number of calories burned post-workout.

In fact, you can burn up to an additional 15% of the total calories you burned during your workout.. after you are done exercising!!

What effects EPOC?

  1. Resistance bearing exercises.  The oxygen depleted from your body is being used to rebuild the micro-tears in your muscles from lifting weights.  If you only do cardiovascular exercise, you will not experience the benefits of afterburn as much as if you lift weights.
  2. Intensity.  Let’s say your friend takes a slow walk around the park and burns 500 calories (it’s going to take her a while).  Now, you are are boot camp and have a super intense workout and burn 500 calories.  You are going to have a much greater afterburn than your friend because the higher the intensity of your workout, the greater the afterburn (post-exercise calorie burn).
  3. Duration.  If you complete an intense workout for 60 minutes, you are going to burn a whole lot more calories post-workout as compared to an intense workout for only 20 or 40 minutes.
  4. Fitness level.  As you become more fit, EPOC will decline because your body will learn to recover faster and become more efficient.

How can I increase my EPOC?

    1. Constantly switch up your routines to keep you body guessing.  Boot Camp is excellent for maximizing your EPOC because we rarely repeat a workout and constantly challenge the entire body for a total body workout.
    2. Use a challenging weight.  Those 3 pounds aren’t doing you any favors.  Use a weight that challenges you so by the last 2 reps you are challenged and feel the burn!
    3. Increase the intensity.  Challenge yourself with your workout!  Don’t be the “3.0 speed treadmill for 45 minutes guy” if you can handle more.
    4. Do exercises that challenge multiple muscle groups.  Do resistance training exercises that challenge your total body.  *Try these 3 exercises*: walking lunge with bicep curl, squat with overhead press, and inchworm with a push-up at the bottom.  Incorporate these exercises into your next workout and you will maximize your post-exercise calorie burn!

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful!  If you liked it, please share this article with your friends on Facebook!

Committed to your health and fitness success,
Laura

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Filed Under: Fitness

Which milk should I choose?

December 6, 2011 By Laura Leave a Comment

If you go into the dairy section of the grocery store, you are bound to be inundated with tons of different milk options.  Dairy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk.. just to name a few!

Which one is a girl to choose?

I’m going to break down where I stand on these different options.  Let’s start off with dairy.

Dangers of Dairy

Lactose (the sugar found in dairy) is not tolerated well by most people.  In fact, after the age of 4, we lose 95% of lactase in our body (the enzyme to digest lactose).  If we don’t have the enzyme we need to digest milk, this will create an acidic environment in your body and encourage the growth of bad bacteria in our body plus most commonly cause us to be bloated and have trouble with digestion.

*Did you know*: we are the only mammals who drink milk from another animal?  Makes you think.. doesn’t it?

If you remove dairy from your diet you will find lots of benefits!

  1. You will be less bloated and have better digestion.
  2. Weight loss.  Dairy is packed with carbohydrates and is insulin promoting; 2 factors related to weight gain.
  3. Less risk of acne, anemia, arthritis, heartburn, indigestion, IBS, Crohn’s disease, breast cancer, and much more.

Even if you are not concerned with gaining weight, dairy is still a poor choice.  Cows are usually fed a diet of corn and soy and held in a confined environment.  Farmers pump cows with growth hormones and antibiotics.  If that isn’t enough, we then skim the milk and pasteurize it.. killing the enzymes and beneficial bacteria in the milk.

Okay that is it for my dairy rant.. here are some good choices that you can keep in your kitchen!

Almond Milk

You will most commonly find almond milk in my refrigerator.  Here’s a list of reasons why it is my favorite.

  1. It is non-dairy.
  2. It is lower in calories and fat than cow’s milk, while high in vitamins, like vitamin D and E.
  3. It tastes delicious!  It has a rich and creamy taste – and is awesome for thickening up smoothies in the morning.  It has a slightly nutty taste – my boyfriend thinks it tastes like chocolate.
  4. It is packed with calcium and actually has more calcium than cow’s milk!
  5. When choosing almond milk – make sure you choose one with low sugar.  Or, it is super simple to make your own!!  Here is a video my mom put up on a step-by-step way to make almond milk!  See the video here.

Soy Milk

There is a direct link between breast cancer and soy.  In fact, doctors recommend women with a history of breast cancer in their family to consume a low amount of soy in their diet.  The science behind this is soy is higher in phytoestrogens compared to most other food sources.  Therefore, we don’t want to consume any extra estrogen in our bodies that could lead to a risk of breast cancer.

In addition, soy has a negative effect on your thyroid.  Soy has one of the highest concentration of goitrogens compared to other foods – which suppress the thyroid and cause weight gain, mood swings, fatigue, etc.

Coconut Milk

Coconuts are a superfood!  They are packed with benefits for your body.  Here are just a few from one of my favorite books Superfoods by David Wolfe:

    1. Improve digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and amino acids.
    2. Improve immune system due to antioxidant properties.
    3. Improve utilization of blood sugar and can lessen the symptoms of hypoglycemia.
    4. Increase speed of the thyroid, allowing body to drop excess weight and accumulated toxins.
    5. Increase metabolism and help with weight loss due to the presence of medium-chain saturated fatty acids.

*Some tips*: When buying coconut milk, buy BPA Free coconut milk, or just buy it in a carton.  Also, coconut milk is high in calories – so don’t use it every day.  It is high in saturated fat, but the fat in coconuts is actually good for you!  I used coconut milk in the Coconut Curry Butternut Squash soup you received in your Food Friday recipe two weeks ago!

Hope you liked this post!  Are you receiving our weekly fitness newsletter?  Sign up to the right and get our FREE Fitness Holiday Survival Guide!

Committed to your health and fitness success,

Laura

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Filed Under: Nutrition

Glycemic Index vs. Glycemic Load

December 1, 2011 By Laura Leave a Comment

Have you started reading a health journal about the glycemic index, glycemic load, glucose spikes, etc. only to get confused and unsure on which information to pay attention to?  One of our boot camp members asked me about the glycemic index last week.. so here is our very first QnA post!

What is the Glycemic Index?

Glycemic Index– a way of measuring impact of foods on blood sugar levels.  If the GI is high, carbohydrates are converted quickly into sugar and cause blood sugar levels to spike.

The numbers: 70+ GI = high, 59-69 GI = medium, less than 55 GI = low.

The glycemic index compares foods containing the same amount of a carbohydrate to raise the blood glucose level.  However, the amount of carbohydrates you consume is what impacts your health.  Eating more of a food does not impact the GI.  This is where glycemic load (GL) comes into play.

Glycemic Index = quality, Glycemic Load = quantity

What is Glycemic Load?

Glycemic Load – measure the impact of a carbohydrate on the system.  Glycemic load is derived from a simple math equation.

Glycemic Load = (Glycemic Index x # carbohydrates (in grams)) ÷ 100

The numbers: 120+ GL = high, 11-19 GL = medium, less than 10 GL = low.

For example: watermelon has a high GI, but since you eat a relatively low number of carbohydrates,  it has a low GL.

*Foods that have a low GL almost always have a low GI.  Foods with a mid to high GL range from very low to very high GI.*

The numbers: a daily glycemic load of 80 or less is low.  A daily glycemic load of 120+ is high.

What are the benefits of eating foods with a low glycemic index?

  • Lose and manage weight
  • Improves diabetes management
  • Reduces risk of heart disease
  • Improves blood cholesterol levels
  • Reduces hunger and keeps you full longer
  • Prolongs physical endurance (you’ll give 110% during boot camp!)
  • Refuel carbohydrate stores after exercise
  • Boosts energy level

Quick tips

1.  The ripening process affects a foods glycemic index.  A ripe food will have a higher GI because it has higher sugar content.

2. Processed food will also have a higher GI.  For example, a glass of orange juice will have a higher GI than a whole orange.

3. Cooking food will increase the GI.  Cooking speeds up the digestion of food so once consumed it will cause a higher spike in blood sugar.

4. Eat more fruits and vegetables in your diet and less bread and processed food.  

I hope you enjoyed this post!  Our next QnA post will be about different milk options: dairy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc. and which one to choose.  Please email me your question at laura@laurafortefitness.com.

Committed to your health and fitness success,

Laura

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Filed Under: Nutrition

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