As I sit and watch the glamorous glam that are the Academy Awards, I, one: can't help but notice that red is the new whatever color was cool last year, and two: am uber-jealous of all the female celebs who have eight+ hours a day dedicated to working out their already magnificently gorgeous bodies. Guaranteed, we'll see Natalie Portman back to her thin frame within days after she gives birth to her dancer baby. Did you see Celine Dion?! Twins?? Are you serious? Not buying it.
Living on the Main Line, we've all seen our fair share of the overly worked out, over-Botoxed and over-Ugged. With the vast amount of incredible dining establishments, such as TJ's Drinkery in Paoli (their to-die-for mac n' cheese is dangerously only one block from my apartment), and the White Dog Cafe in Wayne (yum all around), I ask you, how, how is it possible to avoid such deliciousness? And if it's completely unavoidable, then you are cordially invited to tell me how a girl's supposed to stay svelte and in shape... without a personal trainer.
Seriously though...I'm always very interested in which fad diets/juice cleanses/workout plans ACTUALLY WORK for people and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Main Liners take a lot of pride in all of these things. I'd love to hear all your successes and if you must, failures! Ready? GO!
Oh...
And one more thing...I thought Christian Bale was American?! ... ...And I call myself a fan. Jeesh.
Hey Kay...nice blog! I noticed your post on FB and since this is a subject that Rayne and I both love, I figured I'd offer my two cents...
ReplyDeleteFad anything doesn't work - that's why it's a fad. Maybe it'll work for a short time, but my guess is that most people aren't looking for temporary results. Healthy eating and good ol' fashioned sweat is the only way! That said, there are smarter ways to eat healthy and exercise.
Here's your perfect diet: Lean protein, lots of veggies & fruits, and complex carbs vs. refined carbs (100% whole wheat, beans, etc.) - I should write a book! The closest thing to a "fad" diet that I've seen awesome results from, is the South Beach Diet. The first two weeks are the toughest, but what the diet does (and this is the important part) is it teaches you to eat healthy and provides a perfect transformation from "diet" to "life style change". It also helps you understand how carbs effect you; each body is unique and responds differently to carb-intake. You can really tell the effects when you start easing them back into your diet on Phase 2 and Phase 3. Also, no diet or lifestyle change is going to succeed if you don't allow yourself a cheat day. Pick a day every week where you just eat what you want (within reason!)...it'll help curb those mac n' cheese cravings on Tuesday if you know you're having them on Saturday.
Regarding exercise, circuit-style training for weights, plyometrics/jump training, and interval training for cardio are the best options for building a lean body. All burn a significant amount of calories while exercising and (most importantly) they stoke your metabolism for hours after your workout (read: continued calorie burning). The best part about them is that don't take hours to perform...30-45 min of circuit/cardio/plyo training is a tough workout! Variety is also important. Our bodies are lazy and quickly adapt to exercise, so switching up your routine every 3-4 weeks is important. I also started P90X - that is one awesome workout! The downside is that you have to commit 60 min per day in a very lockstep manner, but in the end I think the results will be worth it.
Jake,
ReplyDeleteLOVE the advice. And frankly, I've been seriously thinking about the P90X thing for a while. But yes, 60 mins a day is hard to find (and I don't even have kids! How do you and Rayne do it?!)
Do you do the P90X workouts in your home? I have limited space, so I'm wondering what it's like if you're a bit cramped in front of your TV.
Again, thanks for the advice! I'm sure my 18 readers (haha) have benefited from it as well!
-k.
Your welcome...it's one of those times where I feel like paying for all those undergrad loans for a major I don't work in is justified!
ReplyDeleteI travel a ton, so I do the workouts on the road in my hotel room in front of my laptop...so space shouldn't be an issue! I stick a set of bands (one set of handles and three bands with varying tension; Golds Gym brand from Target) in my carry-on, along with the DVDs that I'll need and I'm all set for the week. Traveling does make it easier to get in those 60 min because I typically have down-time at night. However, there are days when I don't get back to my hotel until 9PM, so it's not always easy. But I figured anyone can do anything for 90 days. I've missed a couple of workouts, but it hasn't really affected me. I didn't purchase the pull-up bar (it's tough to fit in the carry-on..LOL), but I wish I did. Maybe I'll do another 90 with bar and augment the cardio days with running, biking, etc.
Rayne and I have always just scheduled workout time into day. I guess it's a habit, much like the bad ones, that's hard to break.