Cambridge Personal Trainer Answers Your Fitness Questions
A Cambridge personal trainer Q&A post….
Hey I hope you’re having an awesome holiday season. I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done last week, thank goodness for online shopping.
This is the time of year that people start to slack on their fitness. I’ll start AFTER the holidays. How often do we hear this? Well the cool thing about our training studio is that most people are actually going to lose fat before the New Year. Nothing better than that.
Anyway, I asked my Facebook friends what their biggest frustrations and struggles were when it came to fitness. I wanted to answer a few of those questions today because I bet you can relate to some of these. Enjoy.
Callie I’m really starting to get into working out but I still find that I go back to my old ways of “rewarding” myself with food or treats if I work out consistently. What can I do about this?
This is a very common thing for people. Food has been used as a reward for us since we were all kids. You have to think about the actual benefits of this for your goals though. If you are training hard and eating well, you certainly can let yourself have a treat once a week. I do this on Saturdays. It helps eliminate cravings and can actually enhance fat loss if done right. The problem comes up when people do this too often. You end up derailing your progress all together. Instead of turning for food and saying “I worked out hard so I deserve this,” how about treating yourself with a new gym outfit, a pair of shoes, a massage, or a new handbag. Use short and long term goals so if you hit a goal with your training, let yourself have one of those things. Use a non-food related reward for each milestone that you hit.
I’m trying to lose fat and get fit, how do I get my family members on board when it seems all they want to do is eat unhealthy stuff?
This can be a tough one but you can just start introducing healthier foods each week. Grab some new healthy recipes that are just twists on old favorites such as chili or meatloaf or spice up fish and chicken with some great marinades (stay away from the liquid ones though, too much sugar). Let everyone in the family know that this is your goal and you need their support. Stock up the house with healthy snacks and pack your day’s worth of food when you head off to work. Just like anything you need to slowly make changes, especially for someone who may not be as focused on it as you are.
How do I keep my fitness and fat loss results going when my social life revolves around eating and drinking?
The key with this is to limit your intake to once a week. It’s okay to have a “cheat” meal once or twice per week but that’s where you need to call it quits. If you find yourself in lots of social situations past that once or twice per week you have to start making healthier choices. Opt for steak, chicken or fish with some veggies or a salad. If your friends know you’re in a healthy mode, they’ll be supportive. If you’re drinking just stick to wine or liquor to avoid the heavy carbs of beer. Pair each drink with one glass of water to stay as hydrated as possible. Plus you want to avoid the hang-over and greasy food binge of the next day. It’s never a perfect situation but just make the smartest choices that you can while you’re out. It’s all about planning in advance what you’ll eat or drink. Don’t make the decision as you’re sitting at the table. Most places have online menus so check it out beforehand and make the healthiest choice available.
Stay tuned for the next installment of questions. If you have a question for me just leave a comment in the section below. Talk soon!