Walking for Fitness? 100 Steps Per Minute

Often times, when I ask a client if they did any cardio, a common response is, "I walked." Well, that's all fine and good, but my next question would be, "how intense was it". Most of the time, these walks aren't very intense at all.

If you're going to use walking as your choice cardio, you must pick up the intensity if you're going to see any results. The New York Times ran an article stating that one should walk at an intensity of 100 steps per minute in order to achieve the appropriate intensity to shed those unwanted pounds. So, the next time you go for a walk, challenge yourself and see if you can hit those 100 steps per minute.

Love Chipotle?

If you love going to Chipotle and savoring the delicious taste of chicken, with peppers, with rice, with cheese, with guacomole ... then you're a lot like me and you know good food when you taste it!

This place is about as close as I get to fast food. Now, because it doesn't have golden arches or a picture of a young girl with red pigtails outside it, don't be fooled. It can be just as bad as any fast food restaurant.

Check out Chipotle's website and they provide all the nutrition information you need to decide if you really need to top those tacos with that extra cheese and sour cream. So, yes, eating the wrong stuff at Chipotle can be a problem. Solution: don't eat the wrong stuff. Below is an example of what I would order.

Burrito Bowl (no burrito shell, no rice, no beans)
-toppings: chicken, peppers/onions, light cheese (a pinch), mild salsa, hot salsa and lettuce.

Leaving out the burrito or taco shells, the rice and the beans saves a ton of calories. My burrito bowl would be around 330 calories. If I got the burrito and added all the extras like more cheese, sour cream, rice, beans and guacomole, then that bowl would be about 1190 calories. Wow! 330 calories vs. 1190 calories for one meal. Which would you pick?

Ten Tips for Weight Loss

1. Eat 5-6 small meals per day.

2. Eat every 2-3 hours.

3. NEVER skip breakfast!

4. Cut out sugary foods. Read the nutrition facts. For example, 1-2 grams per serving is okay. 10 or more grams per serving is definitely too much.

5. Cut out liquid calories such as soda, juice, specialty coffee drinks, etc.

6. Trade white breads and pastas for whole grain varieties.

7. Eat more lean protien such as skinless chicken, fish and lean cuts of beef.

8. Drink more water. Aim for 2 liters per day.

9. Absolutely no junk! No cookies, chips, donuts, candy etc.

10. Avoid fast food at all costs.

Are You Getting Enough EFAs?

Contrary to popular belief, all fats are not bad. Saturated fat is the bad stuff we want to stay away from. Saturated fat is found mostly in fried foods and junk food. EFAs or "essential fatty acids" are the good fats our bodies need. You can find these types of fats mostly in fish and nuts. When you are watching what you eat, you should never elimintate fat completely. Trade the foods with high amounts of saturated fats for healthy sources of omega 3 and omega 6 fats.

Check out this article for examples.

Tired of Your Same Ol' Bars?

Well, create your own! Yup, that's right. There is a company called YouBar that allows you to create any type of protein or energy bar you like. So, if you love cashew butter, but have a hard time finding a bar that has it ... make it yourself! Just go to youbars.com and you will find all sorts of options you can add to your bar. The one I created for myself has whey protein, apples, cinnamon, almonds and oats and is only 126 calories!

I'm Back!

Yes, I've been away for a while. I took a bit of a hiatus after my vacation, which was great! I had so much fun. I guess I've been on vacation mode ever since. It was nice to get away, but I discovered that a 7 day cruise is too long for me. After day 4, motion sickness set it. Luckily, the cruise ship was well stocked with medication to help anyone who was suffering.

The highlight of the trip for me was riding an ATV in the rainforests of Belize. That was so much fun! I did pretty well too considering I had never done it before. At one point I almost fell off, but quickly recovered. I guess all that working has paid off.

OK, I'll get back to fitness now. Just thought I'd share.